boston_celticsfandomcom-20200214-history
Ray Allen
Walter Ray Allen (born July 20, 1975 in Merced, California), commonly referred to as Ray Allen, is an American professional Basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics at the position of shooting guard. He has played professionally for the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics, and collegiately at the University of Connecticut. One of the most accurate 3-point shooters in NBA history, he is an eight-time NBA All-Star and won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2000 United States Men's Basketball Team. Allen has also acted in two films, including a co-starring role as Jesus Shuttleworth in the 1998 Spike Lee-directed He Got Game. Latest News * Ray Allen scored big against the Houston Rockets, helping secure a win early in the season, with 101-99. Against the Rockets, Allen was the big scorer, getting 26 points, including an important 3-pointer. "http://sports.aol.com/story/_a/bbdp/ray-allen-leads-celtics-103-99-win-over/238123", AOL Sports, Chris Duncan. November 5, 2008. __TOC__ Background Statistics College: Connecticut Years pro: 12 Acquired: Drafted No.5 by Minnesota in 1996 2008/2009 salary: $17.4 million Signed through: 2009-2010 Last year's numbers: 17.4 ppg, 3.1 apg, 3.7 rpg in 36 minutes Strengths Allen is a great scorer, averaging 21 points per game throughout his NBA career. He is known for his jump shot, making nearly 40% of his three-pointers last season. Allen is also known for behaving like a professional, often arriving at the arena before the rest of the team and taking great care of his body. Weaknesses Allen is getting older which is making him injury prone High school The third of five children, Allen was born at Castle Air Force Base in Merced, California. A military child, he spent time growing up in Saxmundham (England), Altus (Oklahoma), Rosamond (California) and Germany. He attended high school in Dalzell, South Carolina, where he led Hillcrest High School to a basketball state championship. College career Allen attended the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996, where he earned All-American status and was named USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. In 1995-96, his final college season, Allen was a first-team All-American and won the Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year award. Allen finished his UConn career third on the Huskies' career scoring list with 1,922 points and set a single-season school record by connecting on 115 three-pointers in 1995-96. In 2001, he was named honorary captain of the 25-member UConn All-Century Basketball Team. On February 5, 2007, his name and number were honored at Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion during the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony at halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orange. Milwaukee Bucks (1996–2003) Allen was drafted out of the University of Connecticut by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1996 NBA Draft. Immediately after his selection, Allen and Andrew Lang (basketball) were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to fourth pick Stephon Marbury. Allen was a member of the NBA's All-Rookie 2nd Team in 1996. His most successful season with the Bucks occurred during the 2000-01 season as he won the 3-point shootout during All-Star Weekend, was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, and led the Bucks, as part of Milwaukee's "Big Three", alongside Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. On February 13, 2008, Allen was named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured Eastern Conference (NBA) All-Star Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards, who was out with a left hip flexor strain, for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. While LeBron James was given the All-Star MVP Award, many analysts, including the TNT commentators of the game, felt it should have gone to Allen, who scored 14 points in a stretch of 3 minutes and 14 seconds in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the East team. On March 28, 2008, Allen was honored as the 3rd best of the 20 greatest players in franchise history during Milwaukee's 40th Anniversary Team Celebration, but couldn't attend the festivities because of the Boston Celtics' game against the New Orleans Hornets. On June 17, 2008, in the series-ending 2008 of the 2008, Allen tied an NBA Finals record with seven three-pointers in the Celtics' 131–92 victory of the Los Angeles Lakers, and also broke the record for three-pointers made in a NBA Finals series with 22, eclipsing the previous record of 17 by Dan Majerle and Derek Harper. Acting career In 1998, Allen co-starred alongside Denzel Washington in the Spike Lee movie He Got Game as high school basketball phenomenon Jesus Shuttlesworth. Roger Ebert praised Allen as a "rarity: an athlete who can act," while New York magazine described him as "graceful and fast in the basketball scenes" while giving "a somberly effective minimalist performance." His role as Shuttlesworth earned him the nickname "Jesus" from teammates and fans. Allen also appeared as Marcus Blake in the 2001 film Harvard Man. Trivia and popular culture *Has a borderline case of obsessive compulsive disorder, which he attributes to his consummate shooting style. *Allen likes to arrive at arenas very early to practice. "He has the key to every arena because he shows before anybody else. Ray turns the lights on. How many shots he gets off before anybody else arrives is only a guess." *He is a member of the Air Jordan brand, which is a subsidiary of Nike. *He is a 12 handicap golfer and has a bowling average over 150. *His favorite movie is Schindler's List. *During Milwaukee's 2001 playoff series with the Hornets, he painted his toenails green and purple for good luck. *Selected as NBA Spokesman for the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. *NBA regular season leader, three-point field goals attempted: 2006 (653) *NBA all-time career three-point field goals made: 2nd with 2,100 (as of April 16, 2008) *Holds NBA record for most seasons leading the league in three-point field goals made with 3''' (2001-02 with 229, 2002-03 season with 201, 2005-06 with 269) *Shares NBA record for '''most three-point field goals made in one half with 8''' with Tracy Mcgrady (April 14, 2002 vs. the Charlotte Hornets). *Shares NBA record for '''most three-point field goals made in a single NBA Finals Game with 7''' with Kenny Smith and Scottie Pippen (June 17, 2008, in Game 6 of the 2008) *Holds NBA record for '''most three-point field goals made in an NBA Finals series with 22 (2008) *Holds Milwaukee Bucks franchise records for most consecutive games played (400), most career three-point field goals made (1,051), and most career three-point field goals attempted (2,587). *Ranks 53rd all time on the NBA's scoring leader list trailing Dave Bing (as of April 16, 2008). *Member of the 2000 United States men's basketball team, which won gold at the Sydney Olympics. External links *[http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ALLENRA02 Career Statistics *Ray Allen Video at ESPN Video Archive Sources Category:2007 players Category:2008 players